Reflections on Mountaineering: A Journey Through Life as Experienced in the Mountains (FOURTH EDITION, Revised and Expanded)

Presented as one hundred fifteen narrative-style poems, some of which are rhyming and others are in prose or blank verse, Reflections on Mountaineering, A Journey Through Life as Experienced in the Mountains, a FOURTH EDITION, summarizes much of what the author, Alan V. Goldman, learned in his more than 30 years of climbing, either from personal experience, or from his mountaineering peers. Mr. Goldman came to realize that many of the same moral issues that confront us in everyday life are likewise present in the high mountains, only to a sharper degree. Still, many of the poems reflect on themes and situations that are peculiarly prominent in the mountain environment.

Collectively, the poems constitute a ＂meditation＂ on the nature of reality itself as perceived in the context of exploring the limits of human understanding and achievement. Musing on topics such as awe and wonder, fear and how to confront it, the lure of the big mountains, as well as the role of luck, fate and chance, Mr. Goldman makes accessible to the general public the otherwise ＂hidden＂ truths that mountaineers often experience. Further, many of the poems address the human perception of reality in the context of the meaning of life itself, and of how climbers impart meaning to the mountains by the very act of climbing them.

Other poems deal with the need to confront a mountain’s challenge, the varying perception of time’s passage in the mountains, a climber’s insight and situational awareness in the mountain arena, dealing with the force of a mountain’s presence, and the power of a mountain’s reality. There’s also the phenomenon of the interrelation of these and other topics in a single experience as reflected in any given poem.

Of course, the poems deal with the feelings evoked by striving for success in the mountains, but also cope with the trauma of defeat. Above all, there is human meaning to be found in the very preparation and discipline required for mountaineering, as well as in experiencing the elation of conquest, of both the mountains and of ourselves.